


Ripples of Hours

by Kayim



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-17
Updated: 2011-07-17
Packaged: 2017-11-11 12:10:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/478418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kayim/pseuds/Kayim
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for a prompt on SG1friendathon:  Janet Frasier, Martouf. Ripple Effect AU team, teammates.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ripples of Hours

_"These paper boats of mine are meant to dance on the ripples of hours, and not reach any destination."  
Rabindranath Tagore_

It is said that every time a decision is made, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, the universe branches off, creating an alternate reality for every one of those decisions. Most of the time, these different realities are near-identical, for example, the decision you made whether to have cereal or toast is unlikely to cause any major changes. Other decisions, such as the one by Jack O’Neill in which he insisted on all members of the Tok’ra/Tau’ri alliance to get tested to ensure they weren’t Za'tarcs, lead to a reality that is similar in many ways to the one we know, but also differentiates in some major ways.

1.  
“I don’t believe it.” Martouf’s insistence made no difference to the way he was treated by the SGC personnel guarding the room. At Jack’s command, they held their weapons trained on the Tok’ra, a combination of conventional military armament, zat’nik’tels and Jack himself holding rifle filled with tranquilizer darts. They had already seen once what a Za'tarc could do, and they weren’t willing to take chances now.

Anise shook her head as Daniel and Sam crowded closer to the screen. The look on Sam’s face told Janet everything she needed to know. It was undeniable, the swirls of color indicating that his memories had been altered somehow. “There can be no doubt, my friend,” she told him. “You are a Za'tarc.”

Martouf’s body tensed and his eyes darted around the room. In a burst of strength and speed that was unusual even for a Tok’ra, he tore free from his restraints, the thick leather snapping like nothing more than a thin sheet of paper. As Janet watched, horrified, from the observation room, Martouf cried out, a sound of an animal in pain. He was fighting it, she realized. Fighting against the mind-control. It wasn’t long, but the hesitation he caused allowed the SFs to do what they were trained to do.

She reached blindly for General Hammond’s arm, needing to ground herself as she watched the Tok’ra fall to the floor, stunned by a zat blast to his chest. Already rushing for the stairwell, she didn’t see Jack firing the tranq dart, but she knew that he would have done.

As soon as Jack confirmed that Martouf was unconscious, the SFs stood aside and allowed her into the room. Reaching Sam first, she gently steered her friend out of the way, dropping to the floor next to Martouf. With one hand on his neck, desperately searching for a pulse, she barked out orders to anyone who would listen. “Get me a crash cart. And prepare the operating room for immediate surgery.”

“Janet?” Sam’s voice was quiet and Janet heard a thousand questions in the single word. She reached one hand out to Sam, unable to offer any words that might comfort her.

2.  
It was Janet who sat by Martouf’s bed for the three days that he was unconscious. SG1 had been sent off-world once again, despite Sam’s arguments, and Janet had promised that she would be there for Martouf when he woke up.

She would have anyway, regardless of the promise she made to Sam, simply because Martouf was her patient. He barely resembled the same man who had shown such an interest in her research into Teal’c’s symbiote, who had stood beside her with bright eyes as she explained that she believed she could synthesize the chemicals needed to keep a Jaffa alive without the need for a symbiote. They hadn’t spent long together, only a few hours, but she was well on her way to considering him a friend by the time he had left with his promises to share more information.

The Goa’uld inside him – Lantesh, Janet reminded herself – was fighting hard for both of them. She’d never before considered one in a positive light, but she had to admit that without the second mind inside his body, Martouf would probably have been long dead.

“Jolinar? Is that you?” Martouf’s voice was harsh and crackled, his throat dry from days of dehydration, but Janet felt her heart lighten. She had hoped that he would wake up soon, but in truth, she hadn’t expected it to be for another few days at least.

She leaned in and placed her hand gently over his, feeling his fingers clasp around hers. “It’s Dr. Frasier,” she told him. “You’re in the SGC.”

His eyes struggled to focus on her, but when he did, he gave a small smile, one that reminded Janet of the Martouf that she knew. “Did I… did I hurt anyone?”

That was so typical of him – at least as far as she knew. She shook her head and gave his hand a squeeze. “No, you didn’t,” she assured him. “You were strong enough to resist until we could render you unconscious.”

The smile broadened, but he allowed his eyes to close. “I am glad, Dr. Frasier.” His voice trailed off as he drifted back into the sleep that would allow Lantesh to heal them both.

“So am I, Martouf. So am I.”

3.  
It was Janet that Martouf turned to when he first considered his application to join the SGC, but she tried to talk him out of it.

“If you’re doing this just to be close to Sam, then I’d have to tell General Hammond that I don’t agree with your application.” They were in the medical lab, as was their habit, cross-referencing data that the Tok’ra had gathered regarding the growth cycle of a larval Goa’uld. She looked at him closely, seeking out his true reasons for wanting to join them. But he closed his eyes briefly, opening them with a flash of silver that indicated that it was Lantesh who spoke.

“While it is true that my host has feelings for Major Carter, that is but a minor part of the reason we wish to join the Tau’ri.” While Janet had become comfortable with the idea that Martouf carried Lantesh inside him, she still felt a little awkward talking to the symbiote and found his formal style of speaking peculiar. “As Jacob and Selmak are working with the Tok’ra to form a stronger alliance, we believe that we could similarly bring strength to the union between our people.”

His eyes closed and when they re-opened, it was Martouf speaking again. “Plus,” he said with a smile that even Janet couldn’t be wholly immune to. “It means that we would get to spend more time together, my friend.”

Janet’s name was signed at the bottom of the application request form when it landed on General Hammond’s desk the next morning.

4.  
P3X-666 was, for all intents and purposes, to be a beautiful world. But when Janet and her medical team burst through the Stargate, it's identification number was completely accurate. They were in hell. Staff weapons blasts and automatic weapon fire were criss-crossing the landscape, with injured members of the SGC trapped between them. She took a second to locate SG1 and assure herself that her friends were safe before she headed towards Airman Wells. She had long given up on the pretense that SG1 meant no more to her than any other team, and while she might berate herself later for the moment's hesitation before moving out, she was glad that she had done so.

Daniel and Martouf were already with the Airman when she got there.

"Am I gonna die?" He was bleeding profusely and Janet wasn't sure if he was even able to be turned over, let alone dragged all the way back through the 'Gate and to the SGC. But she would never, ever, let a patient know that. She glanced at Martouf and saw the same recognition in his eyes.

"Not if I have anything to do with it," she replied, already reaching for the wound. Daniel was talking to Wells, keeping his mind occupied, while Martouf worked in silence next to her, preparing each piece of equipment for her. It wasn't the first time they'd worked together in the field, and she suspected it wouldn't be the last.

Wells was talking into Daniel's video camera – a final message to his wife – when Martouf jerked his head up. A split second later, Janet felt herself flung backwards, away from the prone Airman, Martouf's body across hers. Daniel dropped the camera and turned around, instinctively firing at the Jaffa.

Janet lifted her head to look at the hole in the ground just inches from where she lay. The blast would have killed her, no doubt about it. Martouf looked at her closely, as if checking for concussion.

"I'm fine," she told him as they sat up. "Let's get this man back to the infirmary."

5.  
Relationships come and go. Even those that involve symbiotes and shared memories. Janet was at home alone when Martouf knocked on her door. Cassie was out with friends, and Janet had just popped a movie into the DVD player to watch.

"My relationship with Samantha is over." The words were stilted and, had it not been for the voice, Janet would have sworn it was Lantesh speaking.

The truth was that Janet already knew about the breaking up. Sam had called her twenty minutes earlier, close to tears, but insisting that she wanted to be alone. Janet had pretended not to hear Jack's voice in the background.

She stepped aside and gestured for Martouf to come in. "How are you holding up?"

He looked at her, puzzled. Just one more human expression that he hadn't encountered before. "How are you coping?" she tried again.

"I… I am sad," he confessed. "But I understand why it has happened."

Janet felt her heart ache for the man sitting next to her on the couch. Everyone, him included, had known where Sam's heart belonged, except for perhaps the two people involved. It couldn't have been much of a surprise for him. He and Janet had discussed this possibility months earlier. "I always knew it was only a temporary thing," he said, reaching for the popcorn Janet offered him. "But it still hurts."

Janet curled her feet up under her and leaned her head on Martouf's shoulder, pressing play on the DVD. "That it does," she agreed. "But life goes on."

He wrapped his arm around her, both of them appreciative of the comfort. "And I have good friends to make things better," he added as the opening credits of the movie began.

"That you do."


End file.
